Click here to see the full article. #Maternal Mental Health #Innovative Investment #Outcomes-based Contracting #Limpopo Province South Africa #Partnership-driven program
Extract on Outcomes-based approaches:
Perhaps the biggest issue for mental health interventions anywhere is knowing if they’ve worked. Programs often focus on the number of available therapists or counseling sessions provided, said Greenland, “but there’s very little measurement, and therefore very little management, of whether or not people’s mental health has actually improved.”
That’s where outcomes-based approaches fit in, according to Healthy Brains Global Initiative, which specializes in this field. From January 2025, it will pilot a yearlong project, funded by Anglo American and delivered by the nonprofit Right to Care, to integrate mental health support into existing maternal and immunization pathways in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Plowright told Devex it aims to improve the well-being of 2,000 mothers, resulting in increased uptake of immunization for their children.
Limpopo is in South Africa’s “platinum belt,” where mining companies including Anglo American are present. The province is marked by poverty and “harmful masculinity,” said Plowright. Teenage pregnancy rates are high, and 31% of pregnant women in Limpopo experience antenatal depression, but standard approaches to mental health have not succeeded, according to the project partners. So, the project has selected indicators based on what Limpopo women have said matters to them — for example, whether they “know what to expect during pregnancy,” or “enjoy caring for their baby.” Right to Care will work on improving these, for example, by providing informational material for existing maternal care providers to use, at clinics or in women’s homes. But it also has the flexibility to change its approach if needed.
#Maternal Mental Health #Innovative Investment #Outcomes-based Contracting #Limpopo Province South Africa #Partnership-driven program
